Covid-19 update 26 March 2021

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Key messages

 • From 29 March, people will be able to meet outdoors in groups of six, or two households together. Outdoor leisure facilities like tennis and basketball courts will reopen and people will be able to take part in organised outdoor sports.

• Our "Keep going...It will be worth it" campaign continues as we start to look ahead to step two of the Government’s road map and remind people about the things we need to keep doing to get there.

• The deadline for businesses to register for free, rapid lateral flow testing kits is 31 March.

• Regular testing, alongside staying at home, following the rules of hands, face, space, ventilate, self-isolating and getting a test if you have COVID-19 symptoms remain crucial to keep reducing the rate of infection and protect one another.

• Testing at the community testing sites in Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Cirencester and the Forest of Dean remains for people who do not have symptoms, but who still need to leave the house for essential reasons including for work or to care for others.

• Households, support and childcare bubbles of school staff or school aged children or children in pre-school or nursery can also test twice-weekly:
o At a local community test site
o By collecting a home test kit from one of the PCR testing sites: Hempsted Meadows, Stroud or Cheltenham walk-in between 1.30pm and 7pm; or
o By ordering a home test kit online

• A link to book a test can be found on the new and improved community testing pages of the GCC website.

• Children in Gloucestershire who are entitled to receive Free School Meals will be supported with vouchers for the Easter holidays.

Mobile Testing Unit (MTU) locations⁶

• Cinderford RFC, Dockham Rd, Cinderford GL14 2AQ (Monday-Tuesday)

• Dursley Rugby Club, Hounds Green, Dursley GL11 6AJ (Monday-Tuesday)

• Royal Agricultural University, Stroud Road, Cirencester, GL7 6JS (Monday-Friday)

• North RFC, Stoke Orchard Road, Bishops Cleeve, GL52 7DG (Tuesday-Wednesday)

• Stow RFC, Oddington Road, Stow on the Wold, GL54 1JJ (Wednesday-Thursday)

• Car Park off Newerne Street, Lydney, GL15 5RA (Wednesday-Friday)

• Sudeley Castle, Castle Street, Winchcombe, GL54 5JD (Friday)

• Car Park, Oldends Lane, Stonehouse, GL10 2DG (Friday-Sunday)

• Hartpury University & Hartpury College, Gloucester, GL193BE (Saturday-Sunday)

• University Of Gloucestershire, Entrance 3, Park Campus, The Park, Cheltenham, GL50 2RH (Saturday-Sunday)

• Lower Lode Depot, Lower Lode Lane, Tewkesbury , GL20 5TT (Saturday-Monday and Thursday)

Permanent Testing Site Locations 

PCR Testing Sites

Gloucester RTS

Hempsted Meadows, David Hook Way, Gloucester, GL2 5LE

Cheltenham LTS

High Street Car Park, Cheltenham, GL50 4AL

Stroud LTS

Stratford Park Leisure Centre, Stratford Road, Stroud, GL5 4AF

You can book a test here for one of these sites if you have any COVID-19 symptoms. 

Community Testing Sites (LFD)

Gloucester City

The Friendship Café @ Chequers, Painswick Road, Gloucester, GL4 6PR

Cirencester

Royal Agricultural University, Stroud Road, Cirencester,GL7 6JS

Forest of Dean

Miners Welfare Hall, Parragate Road,
Cinderford, GL14 2JN

You can book a test here  for one of these sites if you do not have any COVID-19 symptoms.

National updates

 • Half of all adults in UK receive first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

• Shielding advice for the clinically extremely vulnerable to stop from April

• Extra £47.6 million for Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre

• National lockdown: Stay at Home – updated to include advice from 29 March

• Ground breaking new technology to detect known variants of concern

• PM statement at coronavirus press conference: 23 March 2021

• Joint Statement from HMG and the European Commission on cooperation in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic

• Government-backed loans help thousands of businesses to protect jobs during pandemic

Key links

National Guidance 

General NHS advice

Latest advice and developments from Gloucestershire NHS 

Gloucestershire's Community Help Hub

Council service updates

Make an adult social care referral 

Business advice and support

Looking after your wellbeing

Support for children and families during Covid-19

19 March 2021

Gloucestershire Covid-19 stats

Link to graph showing daily cases by local authority (Please open in Google Chrome)

Cases

• In week 12 (Monday 15th March – Sunday 21st March) there were 122 confirmed cases of COVID19.

Of these cases:
• 32 were in Stroud
• 30 were in Cheltenham
• 18 were in Gloucester
• 18 were in Tewkesbury
• 17 were in Forest of Dean
• 7 were in Cotswold
* Please note these figures are provisional and subject to change. (Source: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/ as at 16:00 17/03/2021)

The rate of cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 is 17.6 in Gloucestershire, 28.2 in the South West, and 54.7 in England.

Deaths mentioning COVID19

• In week 10 (Saturday 6th March– Friday 12th March) there were 6 deaths mentioning “novel coronavirus (COVID-19)”, which is 6.3% of all deaths, this compares with 10 (9.1% of all deaths) in Week 9.

*Please note these figures are based on all deaths registered by the 20th March, they are provisional and will be subject to change. They include deaths that make any mention of COVID-19 on the death certificate.(Source: Weekly provisional figures on deaths occurring and registered in England and Wales by Local Authority)

*Please note the dates above, the ONS weeks run from Saturday- Friday and we are unable to change this.

Deaths in NHS Trusts² - 611 (2 new)

Deaths in care homes⁴ - 406 (1 new)

Your questions answered

To make sure your questions get answered promptly by the team, please continue to send your questions directly to democratic.services@gloucestershire.gov.uk

¹ The above data reflects nationally published data available here.

² This section contains information on deaths of patients who have died in hospitals in Gloucestershire and had tested positive for Covid-19 at time of death or where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. All deaths are recorded against the date of death rather than the date the deaths were announced. It is based on national NHS data published here. 

³ Weekly death figures provide provisional counts of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales for which data are available. From 31 March 2020 these figures also show the number of deaths involving coronavirus (Covid-19), based on any mention of Covid-19 on the death certificate. Figures by place of death may differ to previously published figures  due to improvements in the way we code place of death. This figure does not include deaths of those resident outside England and Wales or those records where the place of residence is either missing or not yet fully coded. For this reason counts may differ to published figures when summed. Bank Holidays could affect the number of registrations made within those weeks.

⁴ Care homes vary in size and in the characteristics of their residents. Outbreak data is also being reported publicly here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/covid-19-number-of-outbreaks-in-care-homes-management-information. The figures here are slightly lower than our local figures due to a time lag. The number of cases (confirmed or suspected) has not been reported due to limitations in data accuracy which means comparison is not possible. This information is being used for operational purposes. As testing in care homes increases we will review whether adding this information will add additional strategic insight.

⁵ CQC publish figures on deaths where Covid-19 was suspected in the notification from the care home, as well as all cause mortality (since 10 April 2020). It is probable that not all deaths due to Covid-19 will be notified as such, conversely Covid-19 may be mentioned but not have been a contributory factor in a death). While CQC numbers are more comprehensive than local reporting, they are not currently reported by district council.

⁶ Please note that there is a possibility of last minute changes if the MTU’s are diverted to assist with outbreak control both in this county or elsewhere.